Advancements in electronic and processing technologies have permitted the development, manufacture, sale, and usage of a wide variety of consumer electronic devices. And as advancements continue to be made, their use in the development and commercialization of additional consumer electronic devices shall correspondingly continue.
Many consumer electronic devices are of dimensions and weights that permit their hand carriage by a user. Typically, a consumer electronic device includes electronic circuitry housed within a housing. The housing supportively houses the electronic circuitry. Some consumer electronic devices also include removable storage media that are removably engageable with the electronic circuitry. In such devices, the housing generally is of a construction that permits the removable storage media to be supportively engaged with the electronic circuitry of the consumer electronic device and also to be removed out of engagement therewith.
When of dimensions to permit and carriage by the user of the consumer electronic device, the device typically includes a portable power supply, such as a battery power supply or battery pack. The portable power supply provides operative power to power the electronic circuitry of the device and obviates the need, while a suitable level of stored energy remains stored at the portable power supply, to power the electronic device. The period of time during which the device can be powered by the portable power supply is dependent upon the power requirements of the device and of the amount of stored energy, stored at the portable power supply. Because the amount of energy that is storable at the portable power supply is finite, the period during which the electronic device can be powered by the portable power supply is correspondingly finite. When the portable power supply becomes depleted of stored energy necessary to power the electronic device, the portable power supply must be replaced with a replacement power supply or the electronic device must be coupled to a permanent supply of electrical power, such as by connection to the permanent power supply by way of a power cable.
The portable power supply is formed, sometimes, of rechargeable batteries or battery packs. A rechargeable battery power supply also provides operative power to power a device to which it is connected. When depleted of stored energy, the power supply is recharged, that is, provided with additional energy to be stored thereat to permit subsequent powering of the electronic device with the battery power supply, once recharged.
Recharging of the portable power supply is carried out, for instance, by providing the rechargeable, portable power supply with energy sourced at a permanent power supply such as a household electrical power supply. When the energy used to recharge the battery power supply is sourced at a household power supply, the characteristics of the power are converted into a form to permit the recharging of the battery power supply. A power cable, and appropriate converter, interconnects the household power supply and the consumer electronic device at which the rechargeable portable power supply is positioned.
A fairly common practice of many users of consumer electronic devices is to power the device with the portable power supply when needed and to power the device with a permanent power supply, when available. When the device is powered by the permanent power supply, if the battery power supply is a rechargeable battery power supply, the battery power supply is recharged while the device is being powered by the permanent power supply.
A user might sometimes operate concurrently two or more consumer electronic devices, each powered by a separate portable power supply or powered by a permanent power supply, at least to recharge the battery power supplies of the respective devices. Separate power cables for the separate devices are conventionally utilized to interconnect the devices and the household power supplies, or other permanent source of power. The multiplicity of power cables is cumbersome and inconvenient to a user of the devices.
For instance, a user might carry both a laptop computer and a mobile phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), or other device. A laptop computer is conventionally powered by a rechargeable power supply and, alternately, by a permanent power supply to which the laptop computer is connectable by way of a power cable. The power cable typically includes a power converter for converting the characteristics of the permanent power supply into characteristics useable by the laptop computer. Power of similar characteristics is typically also sometimes used by other consumer electronic devices, such as the PDA or mobile phone, at least for purposes of recharging the rechargeable battery power supplies of such other devices.
If a manner could be provided by which to power both of the devices by way of a common power cable, increased convenience would be provided to the user of the devices.
It is in light of this background information related to the powering of consumer electronic devices that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.